Tsahaylu
by Kalira69
Summary: Jake's thoughts and experiences as he makes Tsahaylu for five memorable first times.
1. First Tsahaylu

Disclaimer: Avatar belongs to James Cameron - and probably some other people I don't know about, as well - and I make no profit from it or this fic.

This is part one of a (projected) five part fic. I have chapters two and three in progress and four and five tentatively mapped out. This will be slash - my muse insisted. For those of you who love Neytiri - and Jake/Neytiri - I can merely tell you that I will likely post some one-shots with her as well.

It occurred to me, randomly, that Tsahaylu is pretty much one of the most amazing things about the Na'vi, then this popped into my head. After that, I realized that this was hardly his only experience with Tsahaylu, thus the other parts.

* * *

**First Tsahaylu**  
Pa'li

The first time Jake made Tsahaylu, it very nearly knocked him on his ass - having another living creature's brain - thoughts, emotions, senses and all - hooked up to his own had a far bigger kick than any weapon he'd ever fired.

Even the Pa'li, a fairly calm, nectavorous herd animal, was so overwhelming, that first time, that Jake really wasn't surprised when it turned into a huge mess the first time he attempted instructing the creature.

He thought it over carefully, far later, when it was quiet and Neytiri had stopped trying to tell him what he had done wrong, before he allowed his exhausted, bruised body to drop off - he wouldn't really have quiet to ponder it once he had woken up back in the link-up chamber. Grace and Norm would, of course, interrogate him too deeply and insistently for him to focus on anything else.

He puzzled through the entire, bizarre experience in depth. He considered that maybe he had 'thought' so firmly and determinedly that he had effectively 'yelled' inside his own - and therefore, the Pa'li's - mind, trying so hard to be heard over the din suddenly filling - and threatening to overflow - his head.

So when he'd meant to say 'go over there', he'd said it all right - loud. In response, the Pa'li had gone - fast. The only problem was that Jake wasn't sure how to overcome that issue - he could hardly imagine getting _used_ to the feelings that the Tsahaylu brought forward - the sensations.

It was just so _loud_ inside his head, with the overwhelming sounds and sensation of the Pa'li's body and mind joined to his own. His Avatar's senses were far sharper than his human body's, but the Pa'li was many times better than that.

Jake's mind was staggered at the thought of what it might have been like if he had made Tsahaylu with a predator's mind. Surely the noise was different, but a creature far more independent and aggressive…

A predator would have even more keen senses, as well, and more awareness of its surroundings. It might even fight Tsahaylu with him, Jake pondered.

Of course, he knew from what little Neytiri had already told him about the training process he was undergoing that, soon enough, he would be trying it with an Ikran.

At least, he would be if he could get a handle on the rest of this - Tsahaylu included.

Jake was determined to succeed, and damned if he wouldn't learn how to get over the noise in his head, and how to be _silent_ - like an adult . . . rather than the child Neytiri kept calling him.

Jake pictured the Mountain Banshees - Seze, Neytiri's Ikran, was intimidating enough, and he had been quiet and only attempted to play with and nuzzle his Taronyu when Jake had seen him.

He couldn't imagine - or rather, he _could_, and it was a daunting prospect - attempting to make Tsahaylu with one. One that would _not_ be quiescent in the slightest - a _wild_ one.

Jake sighed, rolling over in his hammock, sweeping his hand along the side to close it before he finally allowed his battered body to rest.

~Hasey~

Note: Nectavorous is apparently not a real word, but the Avatar wikia tells me that the Pa'li are nectavores - they eat sap and gain protein from insects and other small creatures trapped in the sap.

Na'vi Translations:  
(All taken from learnnavi-org)

Tsahaylu [ʦa.'] _n._ **Bond** (neural connection)  
pa'li ['paʔ.li] _n._ **Direhorse**  
ikran [ik.'ɾan] _n._ **Mountain banshee**  
seze ['sɛ.zɛ] _n._ (blue flower)  
taronyu ['ta.ɾ] _n._ **Hunter**

Oh, and because using French for this fic seemed weird. . .  
hasey ['ha.sɛj] _adj._ **Done,finished**

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I hope you enjoyed this and are looking forward to the next part! (Unfortunately, I have no idea when the next part will be up.) I'm pretty excited about this - for one thing, this is my very first time getting into a fandom (writing-wise, at least) when it is still fairly new.  
~Kalira


	2. Midair Tsahaylu

**Midair Tsahaylu**  
Ikran

If Jake had thought that an Ikran would be amazingly different from a Pa'li . . . well, he had not thought of a difference strong enough.

It was even more overwhelming - as he had expected, of course, a predator being so much more aware if its surroundings. Something he had _not_ taken into consideration was the fact that the Pa'li were _herd_ creatures, while the Ikran, though they lived in large groups, mainly hunted on their own - or with their mate.

Of course, the main overwhelming thing was one he couldn't have thought to plan for - and Neytiri couldn't have hoped to predict it and warn him either. Making Tsahaylu in midair? Had decidedly _not_ been part of the plan.

The one thing that overshadowed everything in the Ikran's mind - and, thus, his own - when they were first linked, was the pure, overwhelming _joy_ of flight.

It was something Jake surely would never have thought - even taking the rather large leap and saying he might have imagined the _possibility¬_ - he would be grateful for; making Tsahaylu with his Ikran for the first time in midair.

It was a truly amazing experience, and it served also to ensure that within moments of their first Tsahaylu being initiated, their bond had settled in nearly completely.

The first thing Jake had from the Ikran was his joy in flight - combined with a feeling Jake might call amusement, seemingly at his own elation at flying, and a friendly sort of acceptance of his chosen makto - even as they settled back down onto the small floating island.

The Ikran, though, was not a creature inclined to blind obedience, as the Pa'li were - it 'spoke' with him, in its own way, and listened to what he wanted, applying its own experience with flight.

Jake laughed as Neytiri urged him - them - off of the island again, insisting, as they obligingly moved, starting to plummet through the air, that the first flight must be taken _now_, so as to cement the bond.

His Ikran shrieked in chorus with his laughter as they dove easily, smoothly, along the sheer face of the island, moving as if they'd done it a hundred times before - their bond had already settled, and it was wondrous!

Jake felt as if he belonged in this bond, something he had never experienced with any of the Pa'li - though he was grateful to the repeated throws he had been subjected to for teaching him how to dampen his mind when he 'spoke' through the Tsahaylu.

Jake saw in its mind that the Ikran truly _chose_ his makto, and wondered if that was why the Tsahaylu felt as if it belonged for the first time. Always before, Tsahaylu had felt uncomfortable, like an intrusion. He wondered absently what it was like for the Ikran, and received another amused feeling from his mount.

Jake heard another shriek - but this time he heard it through his Ikran's senses as well, feeling him feel it shuddering through his bones and identify it flawlessly with ease. Jake turned his head and saw, as he had expected, Neytiri and Seze, who were now swooping in closer to them.

The Ikran had 'heard' Seze's shriek in Jake's own memory, using it, combining it with his own senses, to identify the pair - now flying in to join them - as friends.

His Ikran shrieked back something Jake would have been intimidated by before, but now heard as an invitation.

Jake laughed again, grinning widely, and met Neytiri's own wide grin as they dove into a series of complicated - and exhilarating - dives, swirls and soaring loops.

The Ikran's pleasure at flying with a partner tugged at Jake's mind as well, joining with his own delight at flying, at pleasing his teacher, at the sheer wonder of it all!

~Hasey~

* * *

I am only including translations for words _new_ in the current chapter, so as not to be reiterating constantly.

Na'vi Translations:  
(All taken from )

makto [mak.'to] _v._ **Ride** (seems to be used indistinguishably with 'rider')

Oh, and I have seen the film once, as of now, and don't necessarily remember precisely what occurs - though some of the miswritten things are done purposefully.


	3. Failed Tsahaylu

**Failed Tsahaylu**  
Neytiri

* * *

The first time - and last - that he and Neytiri made Tsahaylu, it was just enough to hint to Jake that this, _this_ could be truly amazing and even wondrous.

Their memories and emotions, particularly the _happy_ times of their lives, flashed through their joined minds - but distantly, as if it were viewed far-off, through the heavy Pandoran mist. Jake wondered briefly if it was _supposed_ to be that way. He worried briefly if perhaps- no, his being a human linking to his Avatar, and _through_ it, had never hindered him in making Tsahaylu before.

Suddenly it went from merely an absently odd feeling to true discomfort, progressing rapidly through outright unpleasantness and then even more swiftly into a sharp pain.

Neytiri hissed, recoiling slightly. Jake himself was gasping for breath, as they immediately yanked their queues apart. The pain rebounded, bouncing roughly inside Jake's head for several minutes before settling to a mere, duller, memory of hurt, though it was still a shadowy feeling along his limbs.

Jake stopped fighting the pain and eased down to rest on his back, struggling to regain his bearings, feeling the warm dirt beneath him and gazing melancholically up at the arching branches of the Utral Aymokriyä. "So, am I wrong, or is that supposed to go differently?"

Neytiri sighed, settling to the ground nearby, her gaze also rising to the delicately glowing branches Utral Aymokriyä. She looked distant - thoughtful. "It is. Eywa tells us we would be poorly matched." She smiled slightly, her eyes soft and hopeful. "When two Na'vi make Tsahaylu, wanting to be muntxa, she skims through minds and memories, sharing them with each other, and if she sees that it is good, she blesses them, making them muntxa - bonding them for life. Then she sends them to sleep, and they dream glimpses of their future together. If she sees that it is bad, then she will break the budding bond - even make Tsahaylu unpleasant."

Jake sighed as well, turning his head to look at Neytiri. She met his gaze squarely. There was regret showing in both of them, but it was soft - Neytiri had grown up knowing Eywa would help her make the right choice for a mate, and Jake . . . he had come to have more faith than he would ever have thought he was capable of in Eywa.

Jake still came out of the experience - as cumulatively unpleasant as it had been - feeling awesome. Neytiri was still a friend to him - his best - and now, in addition to his own experiences of living amongst the Na'vi, he had these flashes of memory, deep in his mind, of the old Kelutrel, of people in the Clan, of the na'ring. Even his mastery of the Na'vi language had improved. For instance, it could actually be _called_ mastery now, as opposed to a clumsy sort of attempt at speech.

Still, hidden deep in the back of his mind, Jake hoped for that bond - not with Neytiri, no, he had released that hope, and - perhaps this itself should have told him something before - really, it had been fairly easy to banish. Just… someone, sometime in the future. He longed for that sort of closeness, love and pure _understanding_ with another being.

~Hasey~

* * *

Na'vi Translations:  
(All taken from )

Utral Aymokriyä ['u.tɾal aj.'mok.ɾi.jæ] _n._ **Tree of Voices**  
muntxa [mun.'t'a] _adj._ **Mated**  
Kelutrel ['kɛl.u.tɾɛl] _n._ **Hometree** (tree for living in)  
na'rìng ['na.ʔ.ɾɪŋ] _n._ **Forest**

* * *

I would have had this posted approximately nineteen hours ago, save for an unfortunate series of circumstances involving my brother, an out of control house party, and my beta deciding that as long as we were out we should go to the store - at five o'clock am - we have put it off for ~two months, but still...

Part four - Toruk - should be up pretty soon.


	4. Desperate Tsahaylu

**Desperate Tsahaylu**  
Toruk

* * *

Jake felt the press of time - which was scant, and rapidly running out - collapsing in on him. He was starting to feel like he couldn't breathe beneath the weight of his knowledge of what must be done. He felt the inquisitive murmurs rising in Tsyal'tsmukan's mind, flowing into his own as his Ikran noticed his edginess and began to respond to it.

Jake sighed, closing his eyes in remembered pain, showing Tsyal'tsmukan what had happened, and what he _had_ to do to prove to the Na'vi that he was trying to help them, that he truly felt himself one of them. He showed what the RDA would do to the na'rìng, to the Na'vi, to everything on Pandora - to the very ground, water and air.

Tsyal'tsmukan recoiled mentally, shocked and horrified. Jake instantly attempted to soothe him, assuring him _that_ was what he was trying to prevent - what he would do _anything_ to stop.

Jake took several deep breaths to fortify himself before showing Tsyal'tsmukan what he was planning - he didn't particularly like it any more than he suspected his Ikran would. Within seconds, he felt disgust rising in the mind connected to his, and heard Tsyal'tsmukan snort in annoyance. Jake soothed him again, and this time he fought it, tossing his head in irritation as he fought his way higher in the thick air.

Jake pushed his own - rather conflicting - feelings on the matter through their Tsahaylu, and the somewhat chilly emotional air dissipated a little as Tsyal'tsmukan snorted again; he _understood_, he just didn't like it. Jake echoed the snort - _he_ didn't either.

Tsyal'tsmukan shrieked, rising smoothly as high as he could manage - they'd need every scrap of advantage they could get to pull this off.

Jake spotted a great Toruk, recognizing it as the one that had chased him and Neytiri through the na'rìng, and felt a frisson of anxiety jolt through his system. It was an old, familiar feeling, however, and one he knew how to master.

As Tsyal'tsmukan slid into position, adding his own knowledge of hunting on the wing - not to mention his memories of fleeing from and avoiding Toruk - to Jake's strategies, and coming up with the best spot for Jake to attempt his insane plan, Jake forced himself to let go of the fear, channeling it into sharpening his senses and reflexes.

Jake thought something akin to 'wish me luck' at Tsyal'tsmukan, and received a huffy little burst of emotion in return. Jake translated it into something resembling a 'you had better be right' and chuckled as he disconnected his queue.

In the same instant, Tsyal'tsmukan sideslipped and ducked a wing into the perfect position for Jake to push off from, which he did, falling into a spread-eagled plummet, much like the one he had learned for catching himself in the na'rìng.

He landed with a thump that knocked the wind out of his chest fiercely as he slid across the rough skin of the great predator, but he didn't have time to recover. Jake was already moving by the time it registered, gasping rapidly in an attempt to reinflate his lungs as he snatched calculatedly at one of the Toruk's antennae.

Toruk dove, attempting to shake the irritant off, and Jake spread out again, trying to reduce his own wind resistance as he held tightly to the antenna he'd caught, shifting to grasp it with both hands.

It took several tries, but Jake kept calm, and eventually he was stable enough to make Tsahaylu with the great creature. He took a deep breath - as deep as he could manage in this rush - and linked his queue to Toruk's antenna.

If he had thought that the plummeting dive on a creature trying to dislodge him was bad, now he was caught up in the windstorm that was Toruk's mind, which was fighting him as no other had.

Jake felt his lungs pressing out any air still in them, his eyes going wide and sightless, and his hands beginning to slip nervelessly from their grip, but none of it registered fully - all of his concentration was bound up in Tsahaylu, fighting for control.

Tsahaylu with Toruk was certainly not like anything Jake could have imagined.

If making Tsahaylu with his Tsyal'tsmukan for the first time had been like coming home, and the Pa'li had been like a firm kick, this, _this_ was like a battle fought _inside_ a storm - throwing him about with abandon and trying to destroy him.

There would be no lasting bond made with Toruk, even if Jake's crazy plan worked.

Jake found himself being glad, in a small corner of his mind. He had his Ikran, and Tsyal'tsmukan was a far better partner than Toruk could ever be. Jake would not want to replace the Ikran with Toruk - assuming he even survived this first Tsahaylu!

He had a flash of inspiration, and - as briefly as he could manage - lessened his fight in the Tsahaylu to beg Eywa for help, on behalf of her children, the Na'vi and all other life on Pandora.

Having done that, he _shoved_ everything he knew about the RDA's plan - one which would destroy the Omatikaya, followed by the rest of the Na'vi, and probably the entirety of Pandora as well - through the Tsahaylu into Toruk's mind. The backlash stung, but he forced the transfer through - not failing to note how much more difficult it was to show Toruk than it was to share something with Tsyal'tsmukan.

After a moment's thought, he added his knowledge of the RDA's mad quest for the Unobtanium, the things he had heard them planning - and seen them do - praying that Eywa would hear him as well, and that the Toruk would grasp some of the urgency - the importance - behind his mission.

Toruk shrieked, and the noise jarred Jake down to his very bones, but he felt acceptance in both the noise and the mind now joined - though uncomfortably so - to his own. Jake took advantage of the fact that he was no longer fighting a mental battle or crushed by the force of the heavy Pandoran air and dragged in several deep breaths.

Jake momentarily recalled the feeling of the attempted muntxa Tsahaylu with Neytiri, and snorted at the thought that perhaps it had helped prepare him for this, which was far less in the way of actual _pain_ - it was simply _not_ comfortable, not natural for him.

As he straightened, getting to a better seat now that Toruk was no longer attempting to dislodge him, he informed the great beast where they were needed. Toruk acknowledged him and changed course. Jake sighed in relief, then started as he felt a fleeting, motherly voice - most definitely _not_ Toruk - reassuring him faintly, whispering through his mind. He began to truly believe that he could pull this off - that they could _win_!

~Hasey~

* * *

I don't know if Jake's Ikran had a name in the movie, as I can't hear it in the movie or find it online. Thus, I created one - it's probably unwieldy, but there you are.

Na'vi Translations:  
(All come from learnnavi-com)

Tsyal'tsmukan [ʦjal 'ʦ] _n._ **Wing-brother**  
(words combined by me, but come from learnnavi-com)

Toruk ['to.ɾuk] _n._ **Great leonopteryx** ("last shadow")

* * *

I am so sorry it took me so long to get this up - I went through a week where I couldn't edit anything, and then my Beta was mad at me and couldn't/wouldn't work on stuff for me. Unfortunately, I have no idea how long it will be until I post the fifth and final part, as it is being stubborn and hard to write - on the plus side, I do, however, have several half-finished one-shots that were supposed to be part five of Tsahaylu and didn't work out.


End file.
